NUS Arts Festival 2012 marks its opening with the world premiere of The Singapore Story an original composition written by the eminent Indian violinist and composer Dr L Subramaniam for the NUS Indian Instrumental Ensemble with guest violinist Ambi Subramaniam.

NUS Arts Festival 2012 marks its opening with the world premiere of The Singapore Story an original composition written by the eminent Indian violinist and composer Dr L Subramaniam for the NUS Indian Instrumental Ensemble with guest violinist Ambi Subramaniam.

The Singapore Story presents the predominant narrative of Singapore’s history viewed through the lens of the rasas, using music as the medium of storytelling. A “rasa” is a Sanskrit word for the essential mental/ emotional state and a work of art dominated by a rasa tries to evoke that particular feeling from the person who encounters it. In Indian aesthetic theory, there are a total of nine such emotional states or Navarasa. Though historical instances of its struggles unique to Singapore, the emotions behind these can be universally experienced through the music.

In the second half of the evening, Dr L Subramaniam will perform a selection of his own critically acclaimed pieces.

<< About Dr L. Subramaniam >>
Virtuoso composer, conductor and violinist, Dr L. Subramaniam is acclaimed by the New York Times as “positively dazzling” and praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as the “greatest of classical Indian violinists…both Paganini and Poet.” With a diverse repertoire, numerous collaborations and masterful techniques, Dr L. Subramaniam charmed audiences from Singapore to Paris, from Delhi to Los Angeles. He has performed and recorded close to 200 recordings of Karnatic Classical Music, Western Classical Music, both orchestral and non-orchestral, and also composed for and conducted major orchestras, scored for films, collaborated with great musicians from different genres of music including jazz, occidental, jugalbandis with North Indian musicians, world music and global fusion.

<< About NUS Indian Instrumental Ensemble >>
Currently led by Tutor Mr Rajandra Vadivale, the 23-year-old Ensemble is a 120-strong group of passionate young musicians and vocalists fascinated by the confluence of diverse Indian musical styles as well as the enriching experience of ensemble performance. The Ensemble sections include veena, sitar, violin, tabla, and vocals. In addition to these, the Ensemble also includes young talents of the flute, mandolin and mridangam.